Shakespeare 2000
by Comics Girl
Summary: This is a "what if" short story. During a rehersal of A Midsummer Nights Dream Shakespeare gets whisked to the future, where he encounters many things and realizes the importance of family. Enjoy xD


Shakespeare in the Twenty First Century

Sara Cunningham

English pre AP/period 4

Mrs. Montgomery

May 19, 2004

Prologue

Back in 1612, around June Shakespeare was in the Globe Theater directing his actors and coworkers in a dress rehearsal for that nights play.

"No, no, no!" Shakespeare bellowed at one of his newest recruits to the theater. "Thou art supposed to be over on yonder platform. Not over there by the chorus."

"Do I have to perform all of the roles my self?" Shakespeare asked to no one in particular.

"Shakespeare, thou doth speakest harshly to thy young squire," intervened one of the older performers. " If I may, young boy is only a stand in."

"Indeed, my patients have worn, by the troubles of the morrow, down to the point of breaking." Turning to the boy, "I am sorry my dear boy, such anger was not warranted for such a triffeling mistake, but, for further reference, your position at this moment in the production is here…"

As Shakespeare stepped over into the designated spot he vanished leaving a stage full of confused actors. Every one in the theater at the time panicked and left the theater for the Church.

June 25, 2004, Saint John, Friday

Walking on the sidewalk toward home, Liz, a girl like any other, picked up her cell phone and called one of her best friends to see what was the buzz while she had been in Miami.

"Hello, is Jenna there?" asked Liz over the phone.

"Hey, Jenna it's Liz. What's up," said Liz as she started her conversation. "So, how was your weekend?" asked Liz to her closest friend over her cell phone. "My family and I just got back from Miami. What did you have to endure over the weekend?"

"That's good. Did you have a good time at the theater?" asked Liz. " I'd have loved to have gone to the theater."

Just then Shakespeare appeared on the sidewalk in front of the chatting Liz. Shakespeare must have been the most confused person in the world at that moment and you could tell by the look on his face.

Liz, who was so busy talking, ran smack into his back. She bounced off of him and fell on her rear on the sidewalk. Shakespeare on the other hand was knocked out of his stupor by the jolt and whirled to see who had run into him.

"I'm frightfully sorry my good si…" he stopped as he saw that his clumsy friend was not a gentleman but a woman, dressed scandalously in a mid-thigh skirt and a revealing tank top. He was tempted to just leave her there in that unflattering position, but the better and more courteous part of his personality took precedence. "I am dreadfully sorry about this excursion. Please, let me help you to thine feet m'lady."

Taking his hand and brushing her self off, "Thank you, sorry about running into you like tha…" she then noticed the way the man was dressed. He looked like he was ripped from the pages of a history textbook. Also, he had a certain air of familiarity about him that she just couldn't put her finger on it. "Wow man, where did you come from?"

"I beg your pardon? From whence did I come? From Stratford upon Avon to this town of London. My name is Shakespeare and what pray tell my lady is you name?" returned Shakespeare as politely as he could manage given her attire.

"My name's Elizabeth. My friends call me Liz and don't think that I am going to believe for one minute that that bit about being Shakespeare is true. And by the way, this isn't London. You are in New Brunswick," she replied. "Also what is up with those clothes?"

"I might ask you of the same and why do you tell me we are not in London but in a place I know not of its existence?" Shakespeare queried getting a little anoid.

"It's the day's fashion. And for the last time you are not in Europe. You are in Canada," said Liz.

From somewhere in the vicinity a barely audible voice was speaking. Liz then remembered her previous phone call.

" Sorry Jenna, I'll have to speak with you later. I just ran into some rather interesting company." Liz then hung up the cell phone.

"You are a witch!" yelled Shakespeare as he saw her talk on the phone. "Send me back to London from whence you stole me." He started to back off from her and into the street, just as a car was coming. He lost his balance and fell into the road.

Liz, seeing the car, grabbed onto 'Shakespeare' and pulled off of the road just as the car passed. "What are you doing are you crazy or something?"

Shakespeare, considerably shaken by the onrush of the car, didn't know what to say or think. The witch had just saved him from being attacked by a marauding demon.

"Even if you are a witch I am now indebted to you for saving my life. For that I thank you Elizabeth."

"You're welcome, but why do you keep calling me a witch?" asked Liz.

"You speak to spirits through that stone and I must be in the realm of witches for if not what of that demon you liberated me from?" stated Shakespeare.

"This isn't a stone. It's a cell phone. Man, you must be Shakespeare if you don't know what a cell phone is. I mean just about every one on this planet has one? And that demon you saw was a car. It's a form of transportation," she explained sarcastically.

"Is this another reality?" asked Shakespeare.

"I don't think so. This is the 21st century pal. You must be a hermit or something," Liz replied.

"The 21st Century, but it is only 1612!" exclaimed Shakespeare. "What will become of my theater, of my performance tonight at the Globe."

"Sorry to burst your bubble but it's 2004," contradicted Liz. "But right now it doesn't really matter if you are from the Elizabethan era or not. You cannot go any where in those clothes. Come on you better come with me or you could get jumped looking the way you look now."

"What's wrong with the way I look?" he asked as she started to pull him to her house, which was only a short distance away from where they were.

At Liz's house 20 minutes later

"Well, how do my brother's clothes fit?" Liz asked from outside the bathroom door.

"These garments are strange but they are very comfortable. Is your father aware that you have brought a man into the house without notice?" mumbled Shakespeare through the door.

"My father hasn't cared what I do for the last seven years. He left my mother and I and I have not even thought of him since," she said, " is there anything else you want to know about my family?"

"I am sorry. I did not know," said Shakespeare sheepishly.

"That's okay, it doesn't really bother me any more. So come on out and lets see the improvement," said Liz.

Shakespeare then opened the door and stepped out. He was wearing straight cut blue jeans and a navy button down shirt, an ascot and casual shoes. "What do you think?" he asked.

"It's definitely an improvement. Now that you've learned the fashion rules of the 21st century I'll have to give your taste buds a crash course in new foods. Did they have hamburgers back in the 1600's?" she asked.

"I do not believe so Elizabeth," he answered.

"Well, it's about time that you had one. After lunch we can go give that hair of yours a trim," Liz stated.

"Is there something wrong with my hair?" asked Shakespeare before being pulled off to lunch by the rambunctious teen.

Lunch at Harvey's

"So, what do you think of the food in the 21st century? Is it any good compared to the food you're used to?" she asked curiously.

While scarfing down half of the cheeseburger and taking a swig of the root beer he said, "this food is fantastic, delicious and tantalizing. How much did you pay for this meal fit for a king?"

"It was only five dollars. I can get you more if you'd like," she offered.

Shakespeare literally went slack jawed. "You are a wealthy woman to be able to spend such money on a guest you barely know. I am very thankful to you."

"No, I'm not rich. Oh, that's right, in your time a penny could buy you a seat at a play or give you a meal. Well, there is a little thing called inflation. It's basically what they call the increase of prices and salaries over a period of time," answered Liz.

"What has this world come to?" asked Shakespeare rhetorically.

"Don't worry about it, just enjoy the meal and enjoy what this time has to offer," said Liz.

"I think that I will. By the way where is Saint John anyway?" asked a curious Shakespeare.

"Saint John is in New Brunswick which is in Canada. Canada is part of a continent that is across the ocean from Europe," explained Liz to the astounded man in front of her. "If you'd like I could take you to the museum after we visit the hair salon. Now finish up and we can get a move on."

After the hair appointment

"Wow. That looks so much better that close crop and highlighting job did you a world of good. Now lets go to the museum," said Liz.

At the museum Shakespeare discovered the world of science and of the dinosaurs and of the worlds beneath the oceans and the worlds too small to be seen.

He also learned of his fame and of other's fame for playwriting, poems, and of other fascinating authors and writers.

That night Liz put Shakespeare up in one of the spare bedrooms in her house and told her mother that he was a friend that would be staying over for a while.

During the night Shakespeare was up pondering the days events. He could not believe that he wasn't dreaming it all in his head. He started to wander the halls for a while and happened to cross Liz's room. He would have passed by without a thought except that he heard muffled tears coming from behind the slightly closed door. Out of concern he peered into the room and saw that she was still awake as well and crying. He could make out a picture she was holding and discerned it to be a picture of her father. He then started to think of his own children that he had not seen in a very long time and thought that he would probably never see them again. A single tear passed his cheek as he remembered their faces and then he returned to his chamber and went to sleep.

Saturday morning

Liz woke up early that morning and made a plan for the day with a surprise for Shakespeare at the end of the day.

When Shakespeare woke up not long after, She told him that they would have waffles for breakfast and then they would go to the stores in the city and then to see some of the more notable places in Saint John.

They first went to the comic shops and looked at all of the different varieties and then they went to the pet store to see what kind of animals there were to see. Shakespeare was oddly surprised when he found out that Liz's favorite animals were the large snakes and the unbelievably big spiders.

After lunch Liz took Shakespeare to the movies. They went to see the movie Spiderman. Shakespeare was overwhelmed by how real it was and he believed that there actually was a real Spiderman and Goblin. He was dumbstruck by how it looked like he was seeing through someone else's eyes. He demonstrated his awe of the picture with endless questions that lasted for hours.

After they went back to her home Shakespeare found the mini movie theater, a.k.a. the TV.

"What does this do?" asked Shakespeare as he held up the remote to the television.

"This is a remote control for the TV if you press a button on this it makes the TV do something. Each button does a different thing," she demonstrated as she explained as best she could.

That night Liz got Shakespeare and herself dressed up for a reason that Shakespeare knew nothing about. "Why are we dressing in such a manner for dinner?" asked Shakespeare. "A small dinner could not possibly merit such dress."

"Well, you are correct about that. We are not going to have just a small dinner we will be heading to a place that I think you will find most enjoyable and you are going to be my escort," said Liz.

She then came out of her room in a ravishing black dress to meet Shakespeare who was in a black tux. "You look positively radiant my young dear. Where are we going tonight?" asked Shakespeare.

"That my good man is a surprise," she said tauntingly, "but I will tell you that it will probably make you feel more at home."

As they stood outside the house Shakespeare was wondering why they were not going anywhere and if they were waiting for something, then what were they waiting for? He looked at Elizabeth and thought back to his wife and children again. As he looked the more he thought she looked like his first daughter and he was once again saddened because he would not see them again. He knew that his sorrow was foolish for he had not attempted to see them for years, but now that he could not go back he realized what a fool he had been for neglecting his family. He looked up and made a silent prayer that he might some day find his way back to his time. Then, from out of nowhere a loud blast of sound from directly beside him started him out of his trance.

"What in the name of all that is holy was that horrid noise?" exclaimed Shakespeare.

"That is our ride," said Liz.

Shakespeare looked and saw one of the metallic demons, that Liz called transportation, stopped beside them on the road with its door open. This one was different from the other one. It was twice as long and it was black. Elizabeth then pulled him gently inside and said that they were ready to go to the driver. Shakespeare didn't know what to expect as they pulled up outside a rather large building. He wondered idly if it was another restaurant.

They got out of the car and went into the building and Shakespeare asked, "Where are we? This place doesn't seem to be a restaurant."

"Well, that is because we are not in any restaurant. I purchased to tickets to see the play _A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM_. Besides I've always wanted to go the theater and now seemed like the perfect opportunity," offered Liz.

"The theater? But this does not remind me of the theaters that where around in my day. Where is the open roof and with one how can thou have a play a night?" Shakespeare wondered.

"Follow me and I will show you." They then entered a large open space with a stage in the front. They were in the first row of a balcony that was large enough to hold a hundred people. Down at the bottom was not a mass of people in a muddy pit but there was an orchestra and hundreds of people seated to see the performance. Up over their heads Shakespeare spied a giant chandelier that shone like the sun.

"This is a magnificent place. I never thought I would see such a place but in my imagination," said Shakespeare full of wonder.

The two then found their seats and waited for the play to begin. As they watched the play Shakespeare was almost ready to cry he was so happy that his plays had been carried down this far through time.

When the play was over he asked if they could go down to the stage and see what the actors saw. So they went down and Shakespeare hopped up onto the stage. As he moved to the front of the stage he thanked Elizabeth for the wonderful time. Then he moved forward and somehow vanished right before Liz's eyes.

"What in the world? Where did he go?" exclaimed a surprised Liz.

"I hope that he has gone and returned home."

She then pulled out her phone and called her friend Jenna to tell her of her day's adventures.

Back in London, 1612

Shakespeare appeared back right where he had been before all of this had started. Also, everyone was still in the exact positions that he had left them in.

"Well, Shakespeare? Whence should the boy be?" asked the older actor.

Shakespeare was almost too overjoyed to speak because he was back in his own time and it appeared that he had not even left. The people were the same and it was the exact time that he had been pulled through time. Then he remembered what happened over the past two days and made a decision right then and there. He turned to the co owner of the Globe and said, "Here, you've seen this play enough times to know how it goes. You will conduct the actors from now on. I am leaving for Stratford."

The co owner was speechless and dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events. He just looked at Shakespeare curiously.

Shakespeare got the message and told him, "There are some things there that I have neglected for far too long and I must rectify that." Then Shakespeare left the Globe and headed for home. The rest, as they say, is history.


End file.
